Mounting assembly for dozer blade



Jan. 4, 1966 K. w. KAMPERT MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR DOZER BLADE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 11, 1964 .FzZ/enior.

Jan. 4, 1966 K. w. KAMPERT MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR DOZER BLADE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 11, 1964 mm nw .3 mm

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Jan. 4, 1966 K, w, KAMPERT 3,226,859

MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR DOZER BLADE Filed Feb. 11, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 4, 1966 K. w. KAMPERT 3,226,859

MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR DOZER BLADE Filed Feb. 11, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I O 6 f E 50 49/ .50

15214 77107": /Y'eiih Z12 flaqzperzf mda g United States PatentO" 3,226,859 MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR DOZER BLADE Keith W. Kampert, Libertyville, Ill., assignor to The Frank G. Hoiigh Co., a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 11, 1964, Ser. No. 343,992 6 Claims. (Cl. 37-144) The present invention relatesto dozer assemblies in general, and more particularly, to a mounting means for a dozer blade.

In the past, it has been common to attach a dozer blade to a pair of push arms, which are mounted on spherical or ball joints secured to thewtractor. The spherical or ball joints were generally positioned upon and affixed to the tractorin a common horizontal plane. With such an arrangement, as the blade is tilted, i.e. one end of the blade raised relative to the other end of the blade, the horizontal distance between the points of attachment of the push arms to the blade decreases. That is, the projection of the distance between the points of attachment of the push arms to the blade onto the horizontal plane containing the ball joints is always less when theblade is in. a tilted condition. The push arms are, therefore, bowed in toward the centerline. of the tractor, and thereby, impart bending forces to the push arms. Because of these forces, push arms are often broken when a bladein tilt position is subjected to a side thrust or load during operation.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved mounting for bulldozer blades whereby excessive compressive stresses are avoided and in which no stresses are imparted to the push arms from the tilting operation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mounting means for a bulldozer blade which is capable of withstanding large bending moments or side loads on the dozer blade.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mounting means for a dozer blade which can be utilized as a side crane.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention and the manner in which it is carried into practice will become apparent in connection with the following specification by reference to the accompanying drawings,

wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a tractor with a bulldozer blade embodying the present invention attached thereto;

FIGURE 2 is atop plan view, with parts broken away, of the tractor shown in FIGURE 1;

FlGURE 3' is 'a front" elevational view of a tractor with a bulldozer blade and showing the mounting structure of the present invention partly in dotted lines;

FIGURE 4 is a view, partly in section, taken along the center line of the tractor and showing the attachment of the cradle to the tractor;

FIGURE 5 is a top elevational view of the cradle; and r FIGURE 6 is a rearward elevational view of the cradle showing the tilt cylinders attached thereto.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 a tractor generally indicated at 10 with a bulldozer blade 63 mounted thereon. In the embodiment shown the tractor 10 is a rubber-tired, articulated vehicle having a forward section 11 and a rearward section 12 which are hingedly connected by means of pins 23 and 23. The upper pin 23 extends through a bifurcated bracket 22' attached to the frame 19 of the rear section 12 and through a bracket 16 attached to the frame 13 of the forward section 11. Similarly, the lower pin 23 extends through a bifurcated bracket 3,225,859 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 22 attached to the rear section 12 and through a bracket 16 attached to the forward section 11. An engine 26 is mounted on the rear section 12 and drives the rear axle 20 and the forward axle 17 through a transmission and transfer case 28. Rubber-tired wheels 21 are mounted on the rear axle 20 and rubber-tired wheels 18 are mounted on the front axle 17. An operators compartment 25 having a cab 25 is mounted on the forward section 11. Steering is accomplished in a conventional manner by means of a hydraulic cylinder 30 connected to the forward section at 31 to the rearward section The mounting assembly, indicated generally at 33, comprises a cradle 34 having a generally A-shaped frame 35, as shown in FIGURE 5. The frame 35 is joined at its forward end by a link 36 and has a pair of outwardly and laterally extending arms 49 secured at its rearward end. A spherical ball 47, as shown in FIG- URE 4, is attached to a bracket 48 mounted on the underside of frame 13. A mounting bracket 44 is attached to the rearward side of the frame 35 and is provided with a spherical surface 45 complementary to the surface of the ball 47. A connecting member 46 securesthe mounting bracket 44 to the ball 47 and forms therewith a universal connector. Since this is a universal connection, no bending moments can be trans mitted or carried by the ball 47. The link 36 on the forward part of the A-frame 35 is provided with a selfaligning bearing 40 mounted therein. The frame 13 of the forward section 11 ha a bifurcated bracket 42 secured thereto and extending downwardly therefrom. A

pin 43 extends through a pair of aligned openings in the bifurcated bracket 42 and through the self-aligning bearing 40 to secure the forward end of the cradle 34 to the tractor frame. The self-aligning bearing comprises an annular socket portion 37 with an internal spherical surface, and an annular ball portion 38 with an external spherical surface in complementary relationship to the socket portion. The ball portion 38 is mounted on the pin 43 intermediate the ends thereof. A cylindrical bore 41 is provided in link 36. An annular shoulder 39 is formed internally of and adjacent to the rear side of link 36. Socket portion 37 is mounted within bore 41 in abutting relationship to shoulder 39. If no self-aligning bearing is used, the center of the ball 47 must be in alignment with the centerline of the pin 47. The self-aligning bearing 40 is utilized to effect an easy assembly of the parts and, in the event the center of the ball 47 does not fall on the centerline of the pin 47, permits rotation, about an axis through the ball and the pin, without binding. It is apparent that universal connectors could be used at both ends of the cradle 34. The combination of the spherical connection at the rearward end of the cradle 34 and the pin connection at the forward end of the cradle assures that the spherical connection will resist all of the straight pushing loads imparted to the cradle, and that the pin 43 will resist all bending or side thrust loads applied to the cradle. A pair of bifurcated brackets 51 are secured to the arms 49 of the cradle 34. A pair of tilt cylinders 52, as shown in FIGURES 3 and 6, are pinned to the bifurcated brackets 53 attached to the tractor. Suitable and wellknown hydraulic means, not shown, are provided for the tilt cylinders 52 so that simultaneous extension of one and retraction of the other will achieve tilting in one direction, and the converse will achieve tilting in the other direction. The outer extremities of the arms 49 are provided with a pair of ball joints 50 to which the C-frame, indicated generally at 55, is secured. The C-frame is composed of a pair of push arms 56 interconnected by a cross beam 58, as shown in FIGURE 2.

The rearward ends of the push arms 56 are provided with clamping means 57 to secure the C-frame 55 to the ball joints 5!). The dozer blade 63 is pivotally connected to the cross member 58 by means of pins 64. A pair of pitch cylinders 65 are pinned at 66 to the push arms 56 and have their rod ends 67 connected to the back of the dozer blade 63 by means of pins 68. Extension and retraction of the cylinders 65 will control the attitude or pitch of the dozer blade. A lift cylinder 66 is pivotally connected to a bifurcated bracket 61 secured to the forward section 11 of the tractor It). The rod portion 62 of the cylinder 60 is attached to a bifurcated bracket mounted on the cross member 58. The connection of the rod portion 62 to the bifurcated bracket 59 may be by means of a straight pin, allowing the rotation of the piston within the cylinder 60 to compensate for the rotary motion caused by the tilting action, or a spherical or ball joint connection may be utilized to effect this connection. Extension and retraction of the cylinder 60 controls the elevation of the bulldozer blade.

It is apparent from the foregoing that any forces applied to the dozer blade in a rearward direction will be carried or absorbed by the ball joint connection 47 and that any side thrusts or bending moments will be carried by or resisted by the pin 43. It is also apparent that tilting of the cradle will not create any stresses in the push arms 56.

In addition, it is possible to provide books, not shown, on the outer extremities of the arms 49 and by so doing utilize the tilt cylinder 52 and the cradle 34 as a side crane. In this type of application it is possible that the force may be applied to the cradle in such a manner that the forward pivot point for the cradle 34 will carry the main force and the rear bearing will resist the bending moments and side thrusts. It is, therefore, desirable to utilize special connections at both the front and rear.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A mounting assembly for attaching a dozer blade to a tractor comprising:

a cradle,

a universal connector securing said cradle at its rearward end to said tractor,

a pivotal connector securing said cradle at its forward end to said tractor,

a pair of substantially horizontal arms secured to said cradle, each of the arms extending outwardly beyond a respective side of the tractor,

a pair of push arms, each of the push arms being pivotally attached to a respective one of said outwardly extending arms and extending forwardly of said tractor,

a dozer blade carried on said push arms, and

a tilt cylinder pivotally connected to said tractor and to one of said outward extending arms.

2.. A mounting assembly for attaching a dozer blade to a tractor comprising:

a cradle,

a first universal connector securing said cradle at its rearward end to the underside of said tractor and having a spherical surface facing in a longitudinal direction,

a second universal connector securing said cradle at its forward end to said tractor and having a spherical surface facing in a transverse direction, said connectors being positioned in axial alignment with each other, a pair of outwardly and oppositely extending arms attached to said cradle,

a pair of push arms, each of the push arms being pivotally attached to a respective one of said outwardly extending arms and extending forwardly of said tractor,

a dozer blade carried on said push arms, and a tilt cylinder pivotally connected to said tractor and to one of said outwardly extending arms.

3. A mounting assembly according to claim 2 wherein said dozer blade is pivotally attached to said push arms, and further comprising a pitch cylinder pivotally connected to one of said push arms and to said dozer blade.

4. A mounting assembly for attaching a dozer blade to a tractor comprising;

a cradle,

a pair of universal connectors securing said cradle to the underside of said tractor, said connectors defining a longitudinally extending substantially horizontal axis of rotation, said cradle having a pair of outwardly and oppositely extending arms,

a pair of push arms, each of the push arms being pivotally connected to a respective one of said outwardly extending arms on each side of said tractor,

a dozer blade carried on said push arms, and

a tilt cylinder pivotally connected to said tractor and to one of said outwardly extending arms, whereby extension and retraction of said tilt cylinder will cause tilting of said blade by pivoting said cradle about said axis of rotation.

5. A mounting assembly according to claim 4 and further comprising pivotal connectors for securing said blade to said push arms and a pitch cylinder pivotally attached to said tractor and to one of said push arms whereby extension and retraction of said pitch cylinder will cause pivotal movement of said blade relative to said push arms and the pitch of said blade thereby controlled.

6. A mounting assembly according to claim 4 and further comprising a cross-member secured to the forward ends of said push arms and a lift cylinder pivotally attached to said tractor and to said cross-member for raising and lowering said blade.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,735,200 2/1956 Arps 37-444 2,775,831 1/1957 Rockwell 37144 FOREIGN PATENTS 825,351 12/1959 Great Britain.

ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM A. SMITH, III, Examiner. 

2. A MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR ATTACHING A DOZER BLADE TO A TRACTOR COMPRISING: A CRADLE, A FIRST UNIVERSAL CONNECTOR SECURING SAID CRADLE AT ITS REARWARD END TO THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID TRACTOR AND HAVING A SPHERICAL SURFACE FACING IN A LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION, A SECOND UNIVERSAL CONNECTOR SECURING SAID CRADLE AT ITS FORWARD END TO SAID TRACTOR AND HAVING A SPHERICAL SURFACE FACING IN A TRANSVERSE DIRECTION, SAID CONNECTORS BEING POSITIONED IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH EACH OTHER, A PAIR OF OUTWARDLY AND OPPOSITELY EXTENDING ARMS ATTACHED TO SAID CRADLE, A PAIR OF PUSH ARMS, EACH OF THE PUSH ARMS BEING PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID OUTWARDLY EXTENDING ARMS AND EXTENDING FORWARDLY OF SAID TRACTOR, 